How to Improve Garden Soil With Charcoal

Charcoal can be used to improve garden soil.

If you want to raise rich, lush flowers and vegetables in your garden, adding charcoal to the soil is a simple and effective method. There are many reasons to add charcoal to your garden, including raising the soil’s pH, improving air circulation and increasing the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients. Once added, the benefits of charcoal continue for years. Should you decide to sell your home, the charcoal-aided garden can help it stand out from neighboring yards. If you don’t plan on moving, each year you can enjoy the benefits that this simple measure brings.

1

Measure the size of your garden. You need to buy 1 pound of charcoal for every 2 square feet of garden area. Purchase horticultural charcoal, available from most garden centers, not charcoal designed for an outdoor grill.

2

Till the garden area to a depth of 8 inches. Discard any rocks, roots or other debris you encounter. If your garden is wet, wait until it dries out to the point that the soil is not sticky before tilling.

3

Spread the charcoal evenly over your garden, and then till it completely into the soil. You can do it all at once or work in sections. Get the charcoal into the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches for best results, though even adding a small amount to the top 2 inches of soil can provide substantial benefits to your plants.

4

Water and fertilize your garden thoroughly. Now that your soil contains charcoal, it will retain both the water and the fertilizer much better than it did previously, and these will be available to your new plants. Once the ground has dried out enough to work, your garden is ready for planting.

Things You Will Need

Measuring tape

Rototiller

Sprinkler

General-purpose fertilizer

Tip

You can make your own horticultural charcoal by burning weeds and yard debris until seeds and pests are killed. The resulting product is called biochar. To make biochar, burn the waste until the smoke from the pile begins to turn from billowy white to a thin blue gray. Cover it completely with an inch of soil, and leave it alone until everything has burned into small chunks but before it has been reduced to ash. Douse it with water to put out the fire, or leave it alone until it cools. Biochar has the same benefits as purchased horticultural charcoal, plus it can help you get rid of yard waste.

Warning

Don’t use in your garden the charcoal sold in stores for use in your barbecue. Such charcoal may have lighter fluid or other chemicals added to help it burn, plus it has binding chemicals to help the briquettes keep their shape. Even the ashes from this type of charcoal are not recommended for use in your garden.